The Sisters of Mercy, Newcastle
Photo of St. Anne's Convent, Summerhill Grove, Newcastle upon Tyne
The letter from The Sister of Nazareth stated that Catherine and Margaret had been returned to their father, so it is clear that Catherine (Kitty) had not
run away from the Nazareth House convent. I decided to email the
Sisters of Mercy, the order of Nuns that ran the convent in Newcastle
(St Anne's, Summerhill Grove) where a Catherine Skivington had been
recorded as resident on the 1921 Census. I hoped that this would reveal
what happened to Kitty when she left Nazareth House in Lancaster.
After
several failed attempts to contact the right department I eventually
received a phone number to call. I spoke to a very nice man called
Daniel Flint who said he would look into my enquiry regarding Catherine
(Kitty) and Margaret Catherine and would get back to me. He asked me to email him some
information so he had something to go on. I sent off an email immediately.
Email to the Sisters of Mercy Archivists and their response with a copy of the register
Daniel
replied a couple of weeks later and confirmed that Catherine and
Margaret were admitted to St. Anne's Convent on the 29th November 1920. Daniel
then stated that Margaret returned home on the 2nd January 1921, prior to the date the 1921 census was taken, and Catherine returned home on the 1st March 1922, after the census.
Daniel told me that the
birthdate the convent had for Catherine was 9th October 1906 and, based on this date of birth, Catherine was aged 14
years old and residing at St. Anne's convent when the 1921 Census
was taken in the June. He surmised it must be my grandmother Catherine who was listed as a servant on the 1921 census.
However, when I checked the copy register, Catherine's date of birth was definitely given as1905 making her 15 years and 7 months, not 14 years old. Her sister Margaret's date of birth was given correctly as 28th May 1907 making her 14 years old when the census was taken and this agreed with the census record. Therefore, the person named as Catherine must have been Catherine's sister, Margaret Catherine Skivington, recorded under her middle name of Catherine. I believe Daniel misread the birth date entries on the register.
Daniel said that Catherine 'returned home' on the 1st March 1922, which agrees with the convent register but doesn't explain why Catherine (Kitty) wasn't showing as residing at the convent. That would have made Catherine 16 years old when she left the convent.
He also said that Margaret returned home 2nd January 1921 but I think he misread the date as the register shows she left in 1931. This agrees with the date Margaret's family have said she was taken home by her sister Mary and would have meant she was still at the convent in 1928 when her sister Catherine visited her on her 21st. birthday.
Daniel
did confirm there were inconsistencies in the records but thought it
unlikely that either of the girls would still have been at the convent
in 1928. However, as stated above, the convent register states that Margaret didn't leave until 1931, when she was 24 years old.
The Catholic Church and its Treatment of Orphans and Young Women
There have been numerous documentaries, films, and
newspaper reports, about the treatment of young women and children by Catholic nuns,
especially in the laundries (the 'Magdalen Laundries', for example) and
girls were often kept beyond school age in order that they could 'repay'
the convent for their care. There are many reports that document the cruelty that some women and young people were subjected to. Both Catherine and Margaret told their families of the cruel way in which the nun's treated them during their convent stays. However, they also say that, despite this, they received an excellent education.
I remain of the opinion that Catherine either ran
away aged 14 or 15 years of age, as she told the family, and as her sisters told her family, or left on the date shown in the register, 1st March 1922, when she was 16 years old.
Sadly,
I am no further advanced in my search for Kitty Smith (Catherine
Skivington) beyond 1922 when she 'returned home' (ran away?) from St. Anne's. Where
was she living? How did she support herself if she was a 'runaway'? Did
she go back to her father in Blyth? How did she end up over 270 miles away in Islington, London, by 1929?
So many questions, so few answers. The search goes on!
